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Leaders Who Inspire U: Shanay Gilchrist, Principal — UPAD Elementary

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The image features a smiling woman with long dark hair wearing a white top against a teal background. The text "Leaders Who Inspire U" and "Celebrating the U Prep Network's Leading Voices" is displayed above the woman's image, along with the logo for "University Prep Art & Design".
Leaders Who Inspire U: Shanay Gilchrist, Principal — UPAD Elementary
Communications Dept

Some leaders arrive at a principalship from the outside. Shanay Gilchrist earned hers from the inside — one classroom, one coaching session, one scholar at a time.

Now in her first year as Principal of University Prep Art & Design Elementary, Gilchrist brings over 12 years of experience in education — as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and assistant principal — to the role she was built for.

Twelve Years in the Making

The image features a smiling woman with long dark hair wearing a white top against a teal background. The text "Leaders Who Inspire U" and "Celebrating the U Prep Network's Leading Voices" is displayed above the woman's image, along with the logo for "University Prep Art & Design".

There is something powerful about being led by someone who knows what it feels like to stand in front of a classroom, to coach a struggling teacher toward a breakthrough, to sit with a family and advocate for their child. Gilchrist has done all of it. She has been a teacher, an instructional coach, an AP, and now a principal — each chapter deepening her understanding of what great schools require and what young scholars deserve.

Her first year at the helm is not a learning curve. It is the culmination of a career built in service to students.

Where It All Begins

UPAD Elementary is where the U Prep journey starts — and where the UPAD identity takes root. From the earliest grades, scholars are immersed in a world where art and design aren't decorations; they are tools for learning. Literacy, numeracy, curiosity, and creativity are developed together, each reinforcing the other.

Gilchrist leads a school where young scholars are encouraged to ask questions, take creative risks, and develop the confidence that will define them as students for years to come. The seeds planted at UPAD Elementary grow into the artists, thinkers, and leaders who fill the hallways of UPAD Middle and High School.

Families at the Center

Gilchrist understands that elementary education is a partnership. Parents are not on the sidelines — they are essential. From volunteer appreciation breakfasts to open houses that welcome families into the heart of school life, UPAD Elementary creates the kind of community where children are surrounded by adults who believe in them both at school and at home.

When families and educators are aligned, scholars thrive. That alignment is the expectation, not the exception, under Shanay Gilchrist's leadership.

Twelve years of dedication. A first year of leadership. And a lifetime of impact ahead.

That's what leadership looks like. That's a leader who inspires U.

See UPAD Elementary for Yourself

We are enrolling scholars for the 2026–2027 school year. Give your child the foundation they deserve — see UPAD Elementary in action.